Zvezda Shipyard Secures First Orders

Russian Zvezda shipyard will start with the production of vessels this year, with the pilot order scheduled to be completed in 2019.

On September 1, the new shipyard inked a contract with oil major Rosneft to construct five 114,000 dwt Aframax tankers.

Furthermore, Rosneft and Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center (FESRC) signed contracts for delivery of two multi-purpose supply vessels of reinforced ice-class Icebreaker 7. The document envisages delivery of the first two Zvezda Shipyard built vessels at the end of 2019 and during the first half of 2020.

In addition, FESRC and Zvezda Marine Technology, a joint venture of Rosneft and Damen Shipyards Group, signed  a project management agreement to build four multifunctional icebreaker supply vessels.

Separately, Rosneft and Exxon Neftegas Limited signed a Joint Protocol on joint review of the new shipyard’s technical capability and development plans. By signing the document, Rosneft said it intends to develop a manufacturing facility for renovation of oil tanker fleet of Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project.

FESRC and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rosmorport (Rosmorpot) will also cooperate in shipbuilding, using the Zvezda Shipyard capabilities to design and build ships for Rosmorport as well as potential orders provided by this company including a series of icebreakers for operations in the Russian Arctic.

Additionally, Rosneft, Keppel FELS Limited, MH Wirth AS and the companies’ joint venture Antares signed heads of agreements for offshore drilling units. The agreement defines anchor projects to be pursued by Zvezda-Keppel Design and Engineering Center. The offshore drilling rigs will be built jointly by Keppel FELS and Zvezda Shipbuilding complex in Russia’s Primorskiy region.

A project to create a shipbuilding and marine equipment cluster located in Russia’s Far East was launched in 2013. The complex will have Russia’s first shipyard for building large capacity vessels. It is being established by a consortium comprised of Rosneftegas, Rosneft and Gazprombank at FESRC.

“A number of documents were signed earlier to establish joint ventures with the participation of Rosneft, FESRC and leading companies in the industry, in particular, Damen, Keppel, and MH Wirth. Cooperation with these companies is the basis for the strategy to develop a shipbuilding cluster in the Far East,” Rosneft said.

The Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex is expected to be able to produce ships up to 350,000 dwt, elements of offshore platforms, ice-class vessels, special vessels and other marine equipment.